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After two years of fundraising efforts and months of work, the Adamo Drive Mural project is making progress toward completion.

The approximately $30,000 project is expected to enhance the appeal of the Ybor City Historic District, transforming industrial weather-beaten portions of Adamo Drive into a work of art representing the culture, heritage and vitality of both Ybor City and Tampa; the mural covers the rear exterior of a 370-by-35-foot space on the 12,000-square-foot Fabricated Products Building at 17th Street and Adamo Drive.

“Art projects such as these not only help to illustrate a rich history and bring students, artists and residents together, but they can stimulate a renewal of energy in urban areas,” says Dave Scott, the project's organizer. “Recently, several major cities such as Omaha, Nebraska and Chattanooga, Tennessee have embraced similar art projects as a smart investment to attract potential investors, visitors and residents. I hope this mural is the spark that helps ignite a greater spirit of renewal in Ybor and the downtown area.”

Spanning two blocks, project organizers believe the Adamo Drive Mural to be one of the largest outdoor murals in the state of Florida. Designed by local artist Mike Parker, the mural depicts the vitality of Ybor City, focusing on the people and families that continue to make the neighborhood what it is today: One continuously welcoming and embracing new ideas, businesses and faces.

“The mural is a tribute to the history of Ybor City. It even reflects the character of the neighborhood today; it’s bright, interesting, and forward-looking,” says Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. “Public art projects like this are an important economic driver and help us define Ybor as a creative place.”

As part of the preplanning process for the project, Parker taught a class at  Hillsborough Community College where students immersed themselves into the history, heritage and current feel of the Ybor City neighborhood. Through research of the neighborhood and interviews with residents, Parker and the HCC students were able to integrate the results into a mural that tells the story of Ybor City.

“We too often forget that Tampa has one of the greatest examples of people embracing the 'American Dream',” Scott says. “The mural can be an inspiration to all of us to make the most of our talent and potential -- an important perspective for the renaissance of Ybor and the growth of the Tampa Bay area.”

An on-site dedication by Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and local community leaders is planned for the community-driven project on Tuesday, May 21st at 2 p.m.

In addition to the City of Tampa and Ybor City Development Corporation, the project has been supported by local businesses including the Columbia Restaurant, Rotary International, Kimmins Contracting Corp., Vykin Corp., Actsoft Inc., Hoffman Porges Gallery, Fabricated Products, Ybor City Round Table, Protective Coating Solutions, Inc., Safway Scaffolding and Acccess Solutions, Corrosion Specialties, Inc., Sherwin-Willliams, Ring Power's Cat Rental Store, Glendale Painting Corp., Empire Paint, Brandon School of Dance Arts, Salem Enterprise Solutions, Radiant Oil, Bad Monkey Ybor, Special Forces Motorcycle Club, Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club and La Gaceta.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Sources: Dave Scott, Adamo Drive Mural; Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn

Bringing together residents, organizations, businesses and agencies interested in changing culture through the creation of accessible, sustainable and enduring creative public spaces throughout the Tampa Bay area, non-profit education group Learning is for Everyone (LI4E) is heading the LI4E Makerspace Project, providing places where everyone can learn, innovate, manufacture and create locally.

Promoting personally fulfilling and economically productive ways, the Makerspace Project's first project has been donated by local South Tampa homeowner Terre Tulsiak; Tulsiak says she wants to give people the chance to feel capable and be capable to learn more if they want, giving them a place and chance to do so.

“Because then they'll want to,” Tulsiak says.

It will be more than six months before Tulsiak's donation of her home and property will become operational as LI4E currently gathers information on the cost of finishing the interior of the home, zoning issues and potential collaborative partners.

“I think this location is fabulous because it's urban, residential, accessible and inclusive-- all the things a public creative space should be,” says LI4E Founder and President Terri Willingham. “The size of the home, large yard and community where the home is located all lend itself to our small scale, light-use educational and environmental sustainability focus.”

Tulsiak and Willingham plan to create a space where skills can be learned, honed and advanced; ideas incubated and tested; and an agrarian-self-supporting venture developed, with the home potentially becoming a catalyst for people to refine sustainable businesses.

Specifically, Tulsiak is looking to work with LI4E's Makerspace Project to explore creating “a collaborative, stimulating, encouraging place for people to come to together to learn how to think more clearly, more expansively and more productively,” she says.

Ultimately, both Tulsiak and Willingham see the South Tampa home becoming a “health club for the mind,” featuring a community garden, laboratory for sustainability and entrepreneurial efforts, small-scale workshop for 3D printing and prototyping and classroom space.

“This is a beautiful, useful and collaborative community project. The house is a blank canvas, and the community is the collective artist,” Willingham says. “Makerspaces provide culture-changing opportunity to move from passive consumption to active creation. They're good for individuals and neighborhoods, providing community-enhancing ways to repurpose unused or abandoned spaces, becoming community gathering places by putting capacity building and resource development into the hands of area residents who need it most.”

Willingham hopes this project will kick start a flurry of makerspace projects, empowering local, ordinary people to become extraordinary makers of both their personal futures, as well as the Tampa Bay area's, as a whole.

Apart from the South Tampa project, LI4E has been working with Pasco County libraries to help create makerspaces in their public library system. Keep an eye out for more makerspace projects throughout the Tampa Bay area and get involved by contacting LI4E at info@learningis4everyone.org or (813) 728-2822.

Check out the Tampa Bay Makers Consortium Directory and Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire website to learn more about similar efforts going on in the area.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Terri Willingham, Learning is for Everyone

A drop-in workspace for freelancers, entrepreneurs and on-the-go professionals in the Tampa Bay region, CoCreativ will open on Second Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg.

CoCreativ President and CEO Joseph Warren says he plans to redefine the modern workspace, promoting coworking in St. Pete with a cheap, alternative to typical makeshift offices and meeting spaces like Starbucks and Panera.

“Working on the go just got a whole lot easier,” Warren says. “People use makeshift office and meeting spaces because they have no place else to go. CoCreativ provides them with a flexible and professional workspace they can drop into as needed.”

Promoting an energetic and supportive community, CoCreativ's 5,500-square-foot pilot space is on the 12th floor of the Wells Fargo Plaza at 150 2nd Avenue North in downtown St. Pete. The space will feature a lounge area, private meeting room and conference room, as well as several rooms and cubbyholes for “heads down” work. CoCreativ's new space will also include a large multipurpose room for classroom training.

No long-term contracts and unlimited monthly acccess are among some of CoCreativ's features. Members simply drop in, plug in and begin working.

“Coworking spaces already exist in Tampa at places like Oxford Exchange, CoWork Tampa and FirstWaVE Venture Center, but up until now, St. Pete did not have a coworking space to call its own,” Warren says. “With all of the amenities that today's mobile professionals desire, such as great restaurants, cafes, nightlife and cultural variety, downtown St. Pete is the perfect place to launch our concept.”

CoCreativ will officially open the doors to a temporary location at the Wells Fargo Plaza on March 18th with plans to move to a larger, ground floor space in the near future; a pre-launch party and open house will be held on March 15th from 5:00 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“Coworking is being driven by a growing and more cohesive tech ecosystem that is quickly gaining national attention as a great place for start ups to launch,” Warren says. “We think we have a pretty solid understanding of our customers' needs and desires. Heck, we're part of our own target market for CoCreativ -- we designed this space for us too!”

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Joseph Warren, CoCreativ

Black & Denim Apparel Company, a men's lifestyle apparel company looking to take the green route by taking care of the environment with fashionable, eco-friendly clothing, has picked the Tampa Bay region to base its headquarters.

Black & Denim searched for a space to house an office and showroom, ultimately stumbling upon CoWork Tampa's entrepreneurial atmosphere, which offers the opportunity to interact with other companies, all under one roof.

"Instead of cities that have garment districts -- New York or Los Angeles -- we did a bit of research and it turns out that when the embargo hit, a lot of cigar factories in Tampa became sewing facilities,'' says Roberto Torres, president of Black & Denim. "Tampa's a natural hub, with one of the most active port systems in Florida, so we dug into the area's roots and decided to help create a garment district. We're trying to harness all of the talent coming out of design schools and major universities, which is paramount for our growth.''

According to Torres, Black & Denim -- which, by the way, is made and sourced entirely out of the United States -- plans to ultimately make CoWork Tampa a permanent home for the company with plans to house machinery on an empty floor, advertising their factory as a "must see destination for tourists,'' he says.

But for now, Black & Denim is focusing on the environment, calling "green technology fashion's new black'' with the launch of a kickstarter project in hopes of showing the region -- and the country -- that fashionable, eco-friendly clothing is possible. One technology currently being utilized by the company includes water-based inks versus traditional plastisol, which is harmful to the environment and, potentially, those wearing it. Sampling and upcycled materials are also a focus for the brand.

"We are thrilled to be able to add to the Tampa Bay economy: We're local and support the local shops and enterprises driving this town,'' Torres says. "One day, we want to be one of those 103-year-old businesses that calls Tampa home. We want to be a part of the history and fabric of the area.''

Black & Denim supports seven local boutiques and employs five employees at the local distribution facility. According to Torres, the company is looking to not only continue supporting local jobs, but create job opportunities in the near future.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Roberto Torres, Black & Denim Apparel Company

Pasco County entrepreneurs soon will be able to take advantage of the county's first business incubator.

On Tuesday, January 22nd, the Dade City Commissioners showed support for local entrepreneurs by approving $50,000 to launch the first business incubator in Pasco County; the incubator will be located in the Dade City Business Center on Citrus Villas Lane and managed by a team led by the Pasco Economic Development Council (EDC).

“The incubator project represents a fantastic opportunity for Dade City in job creation, promotion of our community as 'open for business' and supporting entrepreneurship,” says John Moors, executive director of the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce. “We look forward to working with our partners in promoting this new growth while maintaining our unique, old Florida sense of community.”

The Dade City Business Center location will play a big role, helping the Pasco EDC to assist start-up companies or early stage businesses grow, add local jobs and receive necessary technical assistance; Saint Leo University has offered to partner with the EDC on this venture, offering that assistance to start-ups.

“The incubator completes a long-term objective for Saint Leo's Donald R. Tapia School of Business to deepen our support to the local business community and provide opportunities for our students and faculty to engage in creating new businesses,” says School of Business Dean Michael Nastanski.

The incubator coming into fruition has been a year in the making by the Pasco EDC.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: John Moors, Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce; Michael Nastanski, Saint Leo University

Local Tampa media and marketing agency Uhsome has announced an expansion, bringing the company's growth to the Sarasota area.

The brains behind CoWorkTampa, a Tampa-based coworking loft offering affordable memberships to local freelancers and entrepreneurs, Uhsome's new 300-square-foot office will be housed inside of HuB's newly opened space at 1680 Fruitville Road in Sarasota. The HuB space celebrated the grand opening of the Fruitville Road location in December 2012.

“Sarasota is an up and coming, wealthy area with a lot of baby boomers needing online assistance,” says Uhsome CEO Chris Arnoldi. “HuB is at the forefront of the technology scene and is definitely the spot to be. We like associating ourselves with people doing it the right way.”

Since 2009, HuB has been active in promoting big ideas in Sarasota and their renovation of a 10,000-square-foot building is continuing to embrace that concept by housing innovative tech companies, entrepreneurs and creative/tech startups. HuB founder Rich Swier Jr. worked on the renovation with Sarasota's HOYT Architects and Biter Enterprises.

“We do a lot business with people working out of the HuB already,” Arnoldi says. “We plan to be more efficient and accessible.”

Uhsome will begin operating out of their new HuB office on February 1st, offering the same suite of professional services including everything from web design, hosting, consulting and development to iPhone apps and mobile sites.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Chris Arnoldi, Uhsome

A new art gallery has made its way to the Edge District in downtown St. Pete.

The Basement at Downtown St. Pete -- which, yes, is actually a basement -- is a new 3,000-square-foot exposed brick space, featuring work by up and coming Tampa Bay area artists. Sponsored by local restaurants and bars, The Basement plans to host monthly events.

“The space is so unparalleled it just oozes creativity,” says The Basement's Nicki Odato. “It brings a surge of uniqueness to an already eclectic city.”

Odato, who runs The Basement with friend Sam Renick, says they weren't looking to open an art gallery when they came across the space at 1000 Central Ave. Instead, they were in the process of looking for a studio space for their local furniture design business, Sotted Design, but saw huge potential for an art gallery.

“Everything just happened organically: We came across the space, it made sense and everything fell into place,” Renick says. “We hope that when people visit The Basement, the same feeling we get every time we go down there, transpires to them.”

In addition to displaying local art, The Basement space is available to rent for photoshoots, videos, yoga classes, etc.

“We love out of the box ideas! Nothing is off of the table when it comes to an idea for the space.”

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Nicki Odato, The Basement

Sarasota's HuB, a creative and collaborative space and community allowing entrepreneurs to come together to develop ideas and contribute toward building a new economy and culture, has opened a new space.

Since 2009, HuB has been active in promoting big ideas in the Sarasota area and their renovation of a 10,000-square-foot building at 1680 Fruitville Rd. is continuing to embrace that concept by housing innovative tech companies, entrepreneurs and creative/tech start ups. HuB founder Rich Swier Jr. worked on the renovation with Sarasota's HOYT Architects and Biter Enterprises.

“We're looking to create a new economy based on creativity,” Swier says. “We wanted to be more centrally located -- downtown -- near a vibrant, creative community.”

The first floor of HuB's new space houses Florida Shores Bank with the second, third and fourth floors offering workspace to tech companies; the third floor is also home to an incubator/collaborative space to local entrepreneurs and startups. A full production studio, bar and event space are among some of the building's features.

A grand opening event for the new Fruitville Road location was hosted on December 8th, featuring a digital show in collaboration with Sarasota's own Ringling College of Art and Design.

Each month, HuB hosts the Entrepreneur Symposium, imviting memebers to network, discuss and share thoughts on entrepreneurship in a non-traditional setting. The Tech Symposium is also hosted monthly, covering a wide range of topics around technology from implementation to innovation.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Rich Swier Jr., HuB

A funky new community theater space has made its way to Tampa's Kennedy Boulevard.

Located across the street from local favorite Buddy Brew, Powerstories' new 1,000-square-foot space at 2105 W. Kennedy Blvd. is part of the Biscayne Lighting building near Tampa's South Howard Avenue.

Featuring 12-foot ceilings and a large glass storefront, owner Fran Powers couldn't be more pleased with the new location for her nonprofit agency with the mission of staging the true stories of women and girls to open minds and hearts.

“Location, location, location -- it's easy access for individuals living in all parts of Tampa,” Powers says. “The owners are delightful to work with and are truly delighted that we're using their space for such a meaningful mission.”

Powers, who believes that the discovery and the telling of autobiographical stories creates new success, invests our lives with more meaning and connects us vitally with others, says the size of the new space allows Powerstories to move forward with its mission, established in March 2003, without being a financial burden.

Working with Keith Arsenault of Tampa's IAEG Inc. International, Powers and the theater consulting group are in the process of transforming the small $3,000 space into a very versatile 30-seat theater. Currently, the space can be utilized for workshops, rehearsals and open mic nights. An additional $15,000 will be invested to get the space ready for theater season, including the addition and installation of lighting and curtain systems, chairs, risers and a new floor.

“Powerstories will be an incubator space for new and young talent: A new live theater providing quality and rich entertainment can certainly enliven an area,” Powers says. “We envision an active little theater where folks are coming and going and are committed to making this a special, bright jewel in the Tampa Bay area.”

Every other Thursday night, Powerstories opens its doors to the public to allow the community to share and listen to true stories during “Open Mic True Stories Nights.”

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberain
Source: Fran Powers, Powerstories

Thanks to the help of Drs. Kiran C. and Pallavi Patel, a new College of Global Sustainability may be in the works for the University of South Florida (USF).

The latest contribution to the USF: Unstoppable Campaign -- a $600 million effort to celebrate the energy, vision and future of the university -- the Patels recently donated $12 million to the university toward an endowment aimed at creating the new Patel College of Global Sustainability.

The new college will expand on nearly a decade of research in an attempt to advance sustainability around the globe.

“The Earth is God's gift to humanity and we believe that the current generation must ensure that while meeting our present needs,” the Patels say. “The world's rapidly depleting resources and growing population require us to become more efficient and think of new ways to develop sustainable and renewable sources of clean water, energy, food and transportation.”

Upon university approval, the new Patel college -- which could begin accepting students as early as January 2013 -- will bring the current work of the Patel School of Global Sustainability to a new level, allowing it to focus on improved urban systems, water and transportation.

Recently, the Patel School of Global Sustainability, which Pallavi Patel calls a “do tank, not a think tank,” became the first North American university to obtain a research and strategy partnership with the UN-HABITAT Partner University Initiative. Together, USF and UN-HABITAT will establish the first United Nations Urban Futures Research Hub in the U.S., promoting education and professional development in emerging cities.

“We are inspired by the Patels' vision of a world where all people have a real chance to reach their full potential in a clean, healthy environment,” says USF President Judy Genshaft. “We are humbled that they have entrusted USF to be a partner in making the vision of a better tomorrow a reality. The Patels' trust in us means as much as the money they give.”

Right here in Tampa, the current Patel School has created a multiyear learning and research partnership with water management in the Netherlands called Resilient Tampa Bay. An effort to prepare the region for potential urban flooding challenges brought by hurricanes and rising sea levels, the program is guiding future development in an attempt to protect areas vulnerable to severe flooding.

The latest $12 million gift from the Patels brings the family's contribution to USF to $25.8 million. Through a series of donations and matching state funds, the Patels have focused their endowments and attention on sustainable global development and healthcare through supporting the Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions Endowment Fund, USF Health, the Dr. Kiran Patel Center for Global Solutions Operating Fund and the Patel Center for Global Solutions.

According to Genshaft, the Patels leadership, influence and donations have helped USF become one of the top 50 research universities in the nation.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Drs. Kiran C. and Pallavi Patel & Judy Genshaft, USF

In an attempt to bring good retail karma to downtown Tampa, new pop-up retail shops are opening in association with Fashion Week Tampa Bay.

Karma: The Shops at Franklin, located in The Vault at the Franklin Exchange building at 611 N. Franklin St., will celebrate a ribbon cutting ceremony by City of Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn on Thursday, Sept. 20th, at 3 p.m. Karma will focus on the local independent businesses.

“Retail is seriously lacking in downtown,” says Monica Varner, owner of Elan Event Studio and organizer of Karma. “Downtown could really use some shopping to get folks out of their offices during the day; not to mention, downtown just needs energy, in general. A pop-up shop might spark some vendors to try the downtown retail market with low risk.”

With pop-up retail shops currently increasing in popularity in major metropolitan cities such as New York and Los Angeles, as well as during Fashion Weeks throughout the country, Varner thought it would be interesting to have a block of stores and people choosing downtown Tampa as a shopping destination in an attempt to promote more business.

“A big goal is to spark interest in retail, show that there is an interest in it and encourage retailers to open a shop and move into downtown Tampa,” she says. “Retail therapy is good karma for downtown and the pop-up shop is a good tie into Fashion Week, helping designers get some additional exposure in showing their products.”

Clothing, handbags, jewelry and other accessories will be featured at Karma: The Shops at Franklin, as well a massage and hair salon, tying in local retail to the week-long Fashion Week Tampa Bay event which will consist of multiple runway shows, boutique vendor exhibits and fashion-focused activities.

“I'm just trying to change downtown Tampa, one event at a time,” Varner says.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Monica Varner, Elan Event Studio

Independent contractors, freelancers and entrepreneurs in Tampa now have the option to ditch the coffee shops and WiFi hotspots: CoWorkTampa recently celebrated the successful launch of a new coworking loft and learning facility.

Located at 3104 N. Armenia Ave., Suite 2 in Tampa's historic Garcia & Vega Cigar Factory, CoWorkTampa offers an open place to work with private offices starting at $200 per month and coworking passes starting at $25 per day; the new facility offers monthly memberships for $97.

Featuring rentable meeting rooms by the hour and day, the fully furnished 6,000-square-foot facility boasts a large coworking area, high-speed internet, kitchen and breakroom, six TVs and free parking. CoWorkTampa is conveniently located just five miles from Tampa International Airport, one mile from Interstate 275.

“It’s so important for Tampa to have successful coworking spaces,” says Chris Arnoldi, the facility's founder. “This supports small business.”

Founded by global internet marketing company Uhsome, CoWorkTampa is working toward the goal of becoming one of the finest coworking spaces in Florida, providing better value and more benefits than other cowork spaces with an impressive roster of start-ups in the Tampa Bay area, according to Arnoldi.

CoWorkTampa members will receive 50 percent off of CoLearnTampa classes and 10 percent off at local businesses such as Wings Gone Wild, LIT Premium Cigar Lounge and Soho Saloon.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Chris Arnoldi, CoWorkTampa

Providing a wide-range of consulting services for roadways, bridges, traffic signals, airports, land developments and landscape architecture, Kimley-Horn and Associates (KHA) recently celebrated the opening of its new office in downtown Tampa.

With 18 offices and more than 400 employees in Florida, the nationally-recognized Raleigh, N.C.-based firm opened their first office in Tampa in 1978. Making the move to 655 N. Franklin St. in downtown Tampa, KHA's new 7,100-square-foot office currently houses 23 employees.

“The combination of the location of some of the staff's homes, client locations and professional relationships made being in a more central location like the downtown area a strong contender for places to look for new office spaces,” says KHA Director of Communications Julie Beauvais.

According to Beauvais, the firm considered locations in downtown and Ybor City before deciding on the North Franklin Street space, working with Gensler Architects on interior design and Solutions General Contractors for the space build-out.

Since the move, KHA has taken pride in significantly reducing their carbon footprint: Thanks to the convenience of the downtown location, approximately 25 percent of the staff bike to work and lunch every week. Prior to the move, Beauvais says they found the majority of their staff driving more than 10 miles daily to get to work alone.

“The office morale has never been higher,” says David Walthall, KHA downtown office leader. “The work environment helped the collaboration between an already close group of co-workers, giving folks variety in their daily routine with all that downtown has to offer during work and after work hours -- hardly anyone gets in their car to drive to lunch."

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Julie Beauvais & David Walthall, KHA

New College of Florida students will see changes on campus when they return in the fall.

Implementing various parts of its 2006 Campus Master Plan, New College recently began a $300,000 renovation on the plaza in front of the Jane Bancroft Cook Library. Sharing the facility with the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, a key component of the project is the construction of a new $400,000 bell tower. The timing of the library plaza renovation is tied to the Fall 2011 opening of the new campus Academic Center and Plaza, located adjacent of the library.

"Over the last few years, New College has been implementing various parts of its Master Plan, which includes urban design components to foster a greater sense of community to enhance the educational and environmental experience for students, faculty and staff,'' says Linda Joffe, New College associate director of public affairs.

According to Joffe, the plan marked an important step in the college's transition back to an independent campus on its historical property, which encompass the former estates of Charles Ringling and Ralph Caples; in 2001, New College separated itself from USF, becoming Florida's independent honors college.

Located between Ringling Plaza and College Drive -- just north of the Ringling Museum and Asolo Repertory Theatre -- the entire plaza in front of the Jane Bancroft Cook Library will be "scraped,'' making way for designs by Graham-Booth Landscape Architecture of St. Petersburg: new pavers, landscaping, lighting, grass, raised planters and tables with attached seating.

In addition, a 64-foot bell tower, designed by Renker-Eich-Parks Architects of St. Petersburg, will evoke New College's historic Four Winds seal and the "building on learning'' concept. The obelisk-style tower will feature four twisting, precast concrete pilasters held together by two rings. Mounted between the rings will be four bells built by French company Paccard, the "Stradivarius of bell makers.'' Currently, more than 120,000 Paccard bells are located in cities and villages throughout the world.

"The modernist bell tower is a welcomed addition to campus architecture. On many college campuses, a bell tower is a landmark and New College wanted to give its students a similar experience,'' Joffe says. "The project is expected to further transform the heart of the campus, creating a seamless, communal outdoor space -- the perfect transition between the historic Ringling-era campus and residential campus.''

According to Joffe, the four bells can be programmed to produce a wide range of melodies. The college hopes that students in the music program will embrace an opportunity to create original music to be played by the new bells.

Funds for the $700,000 project are provided by a $400,000 donation by philanthropists and community leader Beverly Koski with the remaining $300,000 designated by state of Florida infrastructure funding. Project manager and New College Senior Architect Jack Whelan expects the project to be complete by October 2012.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Linda Joffe, New College of Florida

The City Center in St. Petersburg is seeing a significant amount of leasing activity.

On the heels of an $8 million renovation project, two new tenants -- Ameriprise Financial Inc. and McLain Foods -- will take advantage of new first-class amenities offered by the 240,000 square foot, two-building complex including a state-of-the-art fitness center, atrium cafe and 65-seat conference center. Existing tenants Royal Bank of Canada Securities (RBC) and Insco Insurance Services signed lease extensions.

“We want to promote a high-quality lifestyle,” says Larry Feldman, CEO of Feldman Equities, an owner of the City Center. “One building can help attract the types of companies that the St. Pete area needs. We're looking to bring in the innovative-type tenants to make for a really dynamic workplace.”

Ameriprise Financial leased 5,368 square feet of space brokered by Jack Hoskins of CBRE; Hoskins also brokered a 16,350-square-foot lease renewal with RBC. In addition, McLain Foods will move into a 4,069-square-foot space at the City Center while Insco Insurance Services has signed a lease extension and expansion for 3,552 square feet. The recent leasing activity totals 29,339 square feet.

“These are the kinds of businesses St. Pete needs,” says Feldman.

Since December 2010, occupancy at the City Center, managed by Tower Realty Partners, has risen from 44 percent to 76 percent. Over the last 15 months, leasing activity has totaled more than 100,000 square feet.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Larry Feldman, Feldman Equities